Woodland School District 50

REMINDER! April 17 is a School Improvement Planning (SIP) Day which is an early release for students. Staff professional development will take place in the afternoon. Calendar: https://www.dist50.net/o/dist50/page/school-year-calendar Early Release Times: Primary - 10:40 a.m., Elementary - 10:50 a.m., Middle School - 11:35 a.m., Intermediate - 12:20 p.m.

The 5th graders in Mrs. Klein's class recently visited Ms. Shiffer's English Language Arts Lab. You might think you are looking at pictures of students playing games, but these are pictures of students practicing reading standards (while playing games)! #LifeintheW

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month Woodland D50 has once again joined forces with area organizations to help raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month in April! We are participating in the Blue Kids Lake County Program because sharing knowledge and resources about child abuse sends the message that all children deserve a chance at a safe childhood. Thank you to Detective Hansen for creating beautiful blue pinwheel displays with Woodland students! And thank you to Woodland staff members for wearing blue today to show that we all play a role in the safety of children in our community.

Reserve Your Spot for Wildcat Summer Adventures! Looking for something fun AND educational for your Wildcat this summer? Wildcat Summer Adventures (WSA) is Woodland's summer school program. The program runs June 11 - July 3, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (No School June 19) Program Flyer: https://5il.co/2drlg Registration for Wildcat Summer Adventures will be open until May 1! Log in to Skyward Family Access, and select "Online Forms" from the column on the left. Questions? Risa Cohen, rcohen@dist50.net https://www.dist50.net/page/summer-adventures

We are officially releasing Episode 2 of the Woodland Wildcast into the wild today! Episode description: Dr. Machak gets to know four Woodland educators who have something very unique in common. Listen in to hear about their favorite things to do in Gurnee, first concerts, and inspiring stories from the classroom! Listen Here: https://woodlandwildcast.podbean.com/e/inspiring-stories-from-four-educators-with-something-unique-in-common/

This 3rd Grader from Mrs. Bogdala's class recently visited Mrs. Van Anrooy's 1st Grade class to help mentor the younger students. Shyne was there to help Mrs. Van Anrooy differentiate for the students who are ready to learn some 3rd grade math! Help us thank this Wildcat for being a wonderful leader and role model in his school. 👏💚🤩

Eclipse Safety & Reminder - https://www.smore.com/n/9zg4j Includes information from the district and each school.

There was a 3rd Grade Pep Parade at Woodland Elementary today! The 3rd grade students are scheduled to take the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) exams next week and the whole school came out to cheer them on. 1st and 2nd grade classmates created signs and lined the parade route to wish them well and to encourage them to do their best. The 3rd graders had huge smiles on their faces as they danced and celebrated along the path of adoring (and adorable) fans. #LifeintheW

In January, we asked you to submit nominations for the Village of Gurnee Teacher of the Year program. From your 246 nominations, the district selected a winner from each school, and today we celebrate the Woodland D50 Teacher of the Year School Winners for the 2023 - 2024 School Year!!! 💚 Carrie Monterroso, Woodland Primary 💚 Amber Dennis, Woodland Elementary 💚 Erica Veronie, Woodland Intermediate 💚 Richard Haines, Woodland Middle School One of these amazing educators will be selected as the District Winner and will move on to be Woodland's Gurnee Teacher of the Year! Congratulations to all the amazing Woodland educators who were nominated this year. We appreciate you!

Woodland School Libraries/LRCs are magical places where books and resources come to life for our Wildcats. Today is School Librarian Appreciation Day, and April is School Library Month. Thank you to the Library and Learning Resource Center teams at each school for supporting literacy, helping students find new and exciting subjects to explore, and providing a wealth of resources to our learning community.

There is a group of people on the #LifeintheW team that make a world of difference in the classroom and in our learning community. They are Paraprofessionals, and today we celebrate their dedication to our schools and the compassion they show our students. They are a crucial network of support across the district, not just today, but every day. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO! Happy Paraprofessional Appreciation Day!

Did you know that April 1 - 5 is National Assistant Principals Week? Please help us celebrate these amazing educators and administrators for their dedication to our students, our staff, and our schools. They are known for being caring, supportive, creative, and energetic. They are known for their singing, dancing, and playing. They are known for being hands-on, available, and present. And if there is a problem, yo they'll solve it! Happy #APWeek to all of Woodland's Assistant Principals! Thank you for all you do.

District Offices are closed on Friday, March 29. School resumes on Monday, April 1 as our staff and students return from Spring Break.

Woodland is currently hiring for a Facilities Manager position to join the Operations & Facilities Department. One position is available now, and one position will be available in July. This is an excellent opportunity to be part of the #LifeintheW team! https://www.applitrack.com/dist50/OnlineApp/default.aspx?Category=Non-Certified+Supervisory

Wishing our Wildcat Family a happy and healthy Spring Break! Here is the weekly newsletter with highlights from the March Board of Education Meeting and other important reminders: https://www.smore.com/n/e28a4

Celebrating Women's History Month with a wonderful panel of speakers today at Woodland Intermediate. These incredible women leaders shared information about their life experiences and provided helpful tips and suggestions for overcoming challenges. They connected their path to leadership with the people who inspired them, and the things they were passionate about. They also shared meaningful advice about knowing your own worth and not letting others opinions hold you back. Women's History Month Panelists: Kristina Whitmore, Vice President of Operations Northwestern Medicine Judge Randie Bruno, 19th Judicial Circuit Court Dr. Lanée Walls, Woodland Associate Superintendent of Educational Services Holly Kim, Lake County Treasurer Detective Kelly Hansen, Gurnee Police Department, Woodland SRO Moderator: Michelle Mallari, Assistant Principal at Woodland Intermediate Event Organizers: Pam Valkenaar and Jessica Pierson

Today is World Down Syndrome Day, 3/21 Natalie and her teachers are wearing pretty cool shirts to raise awareness about World Down Syndrome Day, and we have seen LOTS OF SOCKS throughout our schools. People are encouraged to wear silly/crazy/colorful socks on WDSD to get people talking. The idea is to start a conversation, so when people ask you about your socks you can tell them, “I’m wearing them to raise awareness of Down syndrome”. The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd month, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. For World Down Syndrome Day 2024, the call to action for people around the world is to End The Stereotypes.

Mr. Taterka (WMS Assistant Principal) led a great seminar today for 6th graders on the topic of Bullying Prevention. The presentation was designed to provide an overview of what is considered bullying, expectations at Woodland Middle School, and things that everyone can do to help prevent bullying in our learning community. The students were then asked to personally reflect on examples of times when they were impacted by bullying, or when they witnessed other bullying behaviors among their peers.

Asking our #LifeintheW community to help us welcome Kathy Jayko to the team! Kathy Jayko is Woodland’s new Student Information Systems and Data Manager as of January 2024. Kathy will be replacing Paul Fegley upon his retirement at the end of this school year, but the position has been updated to include new duties and responsibilities to adapt to the changing needs of district technology and innovation. Ms. Jayko has over 18 years of experience supporting data and technology in Johnsburg School District 12, McHenry School District 15, and Lake Zurich District 95. Kathy holds herself to a high standard in the areas of accuracy, confidentiality, and organization. Welcome Kathy!

Wildcat Volleyball Conference Champions for the boys too! 8th Grade Boys Green - 1st Place 7th Grade Boys Green - 1st Place Way to go Wildcats 💚🏐